Yes, I know we just did this last weekend . . . . but the weather is looking very good for this weekend. Anyone interested? Location? I can't fly all day . . . but I'll bet I can fit in an afternoon. Greene Valley, Busse Woods, Northerly Island or Kankakee would be reasonable choices for me. The lawn mowing can wait another day . . .

Yeah, the weather for Sunday in Champaign has a higher chance of rain than Kankakee or Chicago. Also, (apologies), I don't think I can make Champaign as my window for flying this weekend is probably a half day / long afternoon. I can probably make Kankakee (or someplace between the western 'burbs and Kankakee). If the possibility for Champaign changes, I'll update the thread.

I looked on Google Maps / satellite view, but did not figure out a good location. Maybe something around Wilmington or the Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie (formerly Joliet Army Arsenal, I believe). I'll PM you so we can figure something out.

Well, we did meet up (a bit more than halfway ). Thanks for sticking around! The weather was great, with good (but slightly variable) winds.

On the drive back, I looked for some sites closer to halfway. Here's a couple possible alternative sites that look like they might be roughly halfway for a future fly . . .

First one is a HS with some ball fields. Don't know if there's a fence or if it's open for public use on the weekends. It's here If we can fly there, the fields are probably mowed, which would be nice.

Another possible location is here. It's a field cleared and leveled for construction but no building under way yet. Which probably means a lack of mowing & a surface that might be a bit dodgy, but an alternative if the HS fields are off limits.

The third possibility is the parking lots all around Chicago Motor Speedway . . . if we can get permission, given that it's private property. It's an absolutely HUGE open area (assuming you are out of the wind shadow of the speedway itself).

There's some Japanese kite where they attach a "hummer" onto the back of the kite. The kites are large and tight as a drum so they really resonate. It makes noise continuously, but when they tug on the string to generate some quicker movement it roars. There's probably some you tube video somewhere...

I'm thinking we might be better off calling CMS than sending an email, but maybe not. I'd say we have a low chance to fly there unless we've paid admission or know someone in management. To be fair, private (and public) companies have to worry about security and liability, so they can be touchy about any activity on their property not related to their business. I'm guessing they will say no, because if they say yes to one group . . . . then more will follow.

There's a smallish grass parking lot at the Southwest corner that looks like it was outside the gates. Looks like it's near an entrance for weekend drag racers (i.e. non-professionals) to get in to the drag strip. That lot was empty when I drove by Sunday.

One more thought - we could offer to use their grounds for "demos" - all we have to do is get the sponsors to supply everyone with logo'd revs for each of the drivers . Only downside is the routine will be a big left-turning oval . . . until we have too many line wraps to continue.